Westpac completes life insurance sale

Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) has completed the sale of its life insurance business to TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia. The transaction was first announced on August 09 last year.

In a media release, Westpac said it expects to report a total after tax loss on the sale of about $1.37 billion. However, Jason Yetton (pictured above left), Westpac’s specialist businesses CEO, said the sale is an important step in simplifying their business.

“We have now completed Westpac’s exit of insurance underwriting following the sales of our general insurance and lenders mortgage insurance businesses in Australia, as well as life insurance in New Zealand,” he said.

A TAL media release said all of the bank’s life insurance business and existing Westpac Life policies transfer to the TAL Group today. The company also welcomed more than three hundred Westpac Life employees.

“The completion of the Westpac Life business acquisition, alongside the strategic alliance with Westpac, is another significant step towards TAL’s goal of protecting more Australians in more ways, throughout their lives,” said TAL Group CEO, Brett Clark (pictured above right).

The TAL release also said that today marks the beginning of an exclusive 20-year strategic alliance between the life insurer and Westpac allowing the bank’s Australian customers to access TAL’s life insurance products.

The Westpac release said a loss of more than $1 billion after tax will be classified in the Group’s 2022 financial year results “as a notable item” primarily relating “to the difference between the sale proceeds of $900 million and the carrying value of net assets in the business.”